My parents always insisted on pulling their young boys away from the Saturday morning cartoons and taking them for a solid breakfast, and for me, that’s where all of this started. I would dig through the wooden basket at the local diner, searching for a spare sports page. When we walked into my dad’s favorite coffee shop, I immediately checked all the empty tables, looking eagerly for a newspaper that had been left behind. On days when my mom cooked breakfast, I ran down to a shop a couple blocks away and slipped the proper coins — back then it was one quarter and one dime — into the newspaper rack, eager to get my hands on a fresh sports page.

Those mornings made me want to work in sports, specifically for the newspaper I was always picking up: The San Jose Mercury News. My time here has, quite literally, been a childhood dream come true, but this is my last piece for the Mercury News.

Starting tomorrow, I’ll be covering the Giants for a different Bay Area company. You don’t need to have Ken Rosenthal’s reporting chops to figure out where I’m going, but for now I want to focus on something else. Simply put, I’d like to say thanks.

Thank you, first and foremost, to you, the readers. The Giants are blessed with a fan base that is as knowledgable and passionate as any in sports, and I’ve never taken for granted the fact that many have chosen this place, this Giants Extra community, as their home. Thank you to all who have read in print or online, followed on Twitter, or continued the conversation in person. This blog was humming along when I started in February of 2012, and I have no doubt that it’ll continue to grow.

That kid dropping a quarter and dime into the newspaper rack had no idea how many people played a part in putting out the morning paper, but I’ve now seen it firsthand. Mike Lefkow, Mark Conley, Darryl Matsuda, Laurence Miedema, Richard Parrish, Dave Belli and many others on the desk make a beat writer’s life a hell of a lot easier. I was lucky to have Tim Kawakami and Dan Brown by my side for two postseasons, serving as colleagues and mentors, and occasionally making sure I got a real dinner or didn’t break curfew. Carl Steward kept this place in great hands when I needed a day off, and many other talented Bay Area News Group journalists made sure I had all the guidance I needed from the moment I stepped into the building. Finally, I’ll forever be grateful to sports editor Bud Geracie for bringing me back home, giving me a chance to write, and handing me a one-way ticket to Scottsdale when this beat opened up.

I hope you all enjoyed the last three seasons as much as I did, and if you see me in Scottsdale, at AT&T Park, or somewhere on the road, please don’t hesitate to keep this conversation going. Enjoy the season, everyone.

Ryan Vogelsong’s final words of the 2014 season came on the stage at city hall following a parade down Market Street. He turned, faced the crowd and playfully yelled, “Vogey out!”

On Friday, the Giants made sure Vogelsong is still in orange and black.

The free agent right-hander signed a one-year, $4 million deal to continue a relationship with the Giants built largely on loyalty. Vogelsong came close to leaving the Giants this week, visiting the Houston Astros and taking a physical with the rebuilding organization. But his heart led him back to San Francisco.

“Ultimately, I’m back where I wanted to be and back where my family wanted to be,” he said. “I’ve told you guys in the past that I’ve always considered myself a Giant. Even when I took my little detour there, there’s not really any place I’d rather play.” Continue Reading →

Ryan Vogelsong has always made it clear that San Francisco is his first choice every offseason, and the Giants are bringing him back for another year. Vogelsong and the Giants agreed to a one-year deal, a league source confirmed Friday morning. The deal is pending a physical, to be taken Friday in San Francisco. Terms were not immediately available.

It is the second straight one-year deal for Vogelsong, who went 8-13 with a 4.00 ERA last season and provides depth for a rotation with serious question marks. The Giants are counting on right-handers Matt Cain (elbow and ankle) and Tim Hudson (ankle) to fully recover from offseason surgeries; hoping that Jake Peavy is the pitcher they saw in August and September, not October; and looking one last time for Tim Lincecum to find his form, despite a 2014 season that included him getting removed from the rotation. Even the ace is less of a certainty than he appears, with Madison Bumgarner having thrown 270 innings last year.

The Giants have insisted that Bumgarner feels strong, Cain and Hudson will be recovered and Peavy and Lincecum are trusted, but they have nonetheless spent much of the offseason trying to add depth. Vogelsong once again became the perfect fit. The 37-year-old reportedly took a physical in Houston this week and appeared on the verge of joining the Astros, but Vogelsong shifted gears and returned to San Francisco. He made it clear after November’s championship parade that he would wait for the Giants to get through other business and come back to him with an offer, and ultimately that happened, it just took much longer than Vogelsong likely anticipated.

Second baseman Marco Scutaro was designated for assignment Wednesday, clearing a 40-man roster spot for outfielder Nori Aoki. The Giants intend on retaining Scutaro and working with the former NLCS MVP as he rehabs following back surgery.

Scutaro had fusion surgery on his back just before Christmas and was said to need four to six months to rehab before doctors could reevaluate his ability to play baseball. The procedure was the latest in a series of health setbacks for the 39-year-old, who grew increasingly gloomy last season when talking about the bulging disc in his back. Scutaro said surgery would be the last resort and was not recommended if the goal was to simply return to the field. He is coming off a season in which he appeared in just five games.

The Giants acquired Scutaro in an under-the-radar deal with the Colorado Rockies before the 2012 trade deadline, and before long teammates started calling him “Blockbuster” because of his impact on the lineup and clubhouse. Scutaro hit .362 in 61 games following the trade and then took home NLCS MVP honors by going 14 for 28 in his first championship series. He won his first title days later, and the Giants gave Scutaro a three-year, $20 million deal that offseason. Continue Reading →

The Giants, as you might have noticed, lost a ton of power this offseason. Pablo Sandoval and Michael Morse are gone, Casey McGehee and Nori Aoki are locked into the lineup. My print story has Bruce Bochy and Brian Sabean talking about the power outage and the new-look lineup. Some other leftover notes from today’s press conference and calls with Brian Sabean (respiratory condition kept him from flying this week) and Bruce Bochy (out of town), who were unable to attend …

— Bochy said that Angel Pagan is his leadoff hitter today, but that could change over time. The manager said he’ll see what the lineup looks like in March, and it’s possible Aoki could be moved toward the top and Pagan could slide into a role behind Posey, Pence, etc. Pagan prefers hitting leadoff, and has made that clear over and over again.

“The wheels are turning,” Bochy said of Aoki. “You get a player like this and it does allow you to make adjustments on the fly.”

— Bochy compared Aoki to Sandoval in the way he can hit a good pitch. “He’s not going to hit home runs like Pablo, but he’s tough to defend against,” he said. During the press conference, Bobby Evans mentioned Aoki’s impressive spray charts. It should be interesting to see what the guy can do in a division full of big outfields. Continue Reading →

We’ve grown accustomed to the conference calls after signings and trades, but it was clear right away that a press conference was necessary today. Nori Aoki is a beat by himself, and the press conference room at AT&T Park was filled with Japanese reporters and cameras from unfamiliar outlets. I’m told this is what it was like during the Bonds years, but Aoki, of course, is a very different player. He’s here for defense and speed and quality at-bats. During the introductory press conference, Bobby Evans pointed to his flare down the left field line (that Juan Perez caught) in Game 7 as a typical Aoki at-bat, and that’s exactly what the Giants went looking for when it became clear that there was no way to make up for the power lost when Pablo Sandoval and Michael Morse went elsewhere. I’ll have more from the front office later, but for now here’s Aoki’s first press conference. He opened by introducing himself in English and saying he was excited to be a Giant, and then spoke through translator Kosuke Inaji.

Aoki’s opening statement: “I’ve always liked the city of San Francisco. I’ve always had admiration for the Giants and the history they have, and having played against them the past three years I can see that they really play together as a team and this is a team that has a chance to play for a championship every year.”

On wearing a Giants jersey for the first time: “This is the first time I’ve worn a uniform with this color so it’s a weird feeling right now. Hopefully I can play and play well and the fans can see me play. I just want this to become a part of me, the black and orange.”

On Bumgarner’s World Series, and being teammates with him: “He’s a great pitcher and the Game 7, I didn’t expect him to come out and throw as much as he did there. He seems like he’s a pitcher with a lot of stamina and he’s always under control. He’s a very tough pitcher to play against. I’ve heard that Madison likes to wrestle so I think I’m going to initiate the wrestling when I first meet him.” Continue Reading →

The Giants avoided arbitration with outfielder Gregor Blanco, agreeing to a two-year deal that will pay the veteran $7.5 million over his final two years before free agency. The deal, which has not yet been made official, leaves Brandon Belt, Brandon Crawford and Casey McGehee as the club’s only arbitration-eligible players.

Blanco had filed for $4 million on Friday when the sides exchanged arbitration figures, with the Giants countering at $3.3 million for the 2015 season. This deal gives both sides cost certainty, paying Blanco $3.6 million in 2015 and $3.9 million in 2016. The 31-year-old has been a reliable fourth outfielder and part-time starter for the past three seasons and finished the 2012 and 2014 World Series runs as a key contributor.

Blanco had a .260/.333/.374 slash line last season while playing a career-high 146 games. Because of his strong outfield defense, Blanco has always rated higher through advance metrics than traditional ones, and he’s especially valuable at spacious AT&T Park. Over the past three seasons, Blanco ranks fifth among Giants position players in WAR (7.2), finishing just behind the man, Angel Pagan (7.8 WAR), he often fills in for. With Nori Aoki now in the fold, Blanco again moves down to the fourth outfielder role he is perfectly suited for.

The Giants hold a club option on Aoki for the 2016 season, giving them control of all four of their veteran outfielders through the next two seasons. Pagan, like Blanco, is signed through the 2016 season. Hunter Pence is signed through 2018. They can now turn their focus to the infield, where Belt could be a tricky arbitration case and Crawford could be in line for a deal that buys out his arbitration years.

Belt filed at $4.5 million after a year in which he lost significant time to two injuries; the Giants countered at $3 million, just above the $2.9 million that Belt earned in 2014. Ordinarily, the 26-year-old first baseman would be in line for a bigger raise, but he played just 61 games last season after a Paul Maholm pitch broke his thumb in May and a wayward Marco Scutaro throw during batting practice left him with a serious concussion in July. Continue Reading →

The Giants finally added some depth in the outfield Friday, agreeing to a one-year deal with former Kansas City Royals outfielder Nori Aoki. The 33-year-old will get $4 million in 2015, according to CBSSports.com, and the Giants hold a club option for 2016.

Aoki hit .285 last season and has a .353 on-base percentage and 67 stolen bases in three seasons for the Milwaukee Brewers and Royals. In filling the void left by Michael Morse, the Giants signed a player who is much more similar to Gregor Blanco than Morse, who signed with the Miami Marlins earlier in the offseason. Aoki hits for average, gets on base and has generally played solid defense in the big leagues, but he hit only one homer a year ago and slugged just .360.

The Giants had been looking for a right-handed-hitting platoon partner for Aoki, but the veteran, a left-handed-hitter, actually fares better against lefties (.776 career OPS) than righties (.726). Most importantly, he gives the Giants a leadoff option if Angel Pagan again misses time with an injury. Aoki has primarily been a leadoff hitter in his career, posting a .353 on-base percentage in over 1,500 plate appearances atop the lineup.

Aoki most recently faced the Giants in the World Series and he struggled, going just 1 for 14 and taking several circuitous routes to fly balls. Still, he has been on the front office’s radar for a while as a cost-effective option in an outfield that needed another player capable of starting given Pagan’s health issues the past two seasons.

Baseball is still more than a month away, but there’s a way to get your Giants fix tonight. MLB Network put together a show about Bochy and Flannery, and it looks pretty great. It’s on MLB Network tonight at 6 and 9 p.m. Pacific. Here’s a preview:
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Another year, another parade, and now … time to take a couple of weeks off. I’ll be on vacation so this blog will go silent, and if the Giants do anything else someone else will cover it on our main sports website. Thanks as always to all of you loyal readers, it was another fun year. Happy holidays, all, and enjoy the annual “Year in Quotes.” It’s always a bit more entertaining after a title run …

“I was in the shower just now and I was thinking about Dee Gordon, to be honest with you. How do we get Dee Gordon? My mind will be all L.A. through the weekend.” — Jake Peavy, a few days before a September series in Los Angeles.

“It was a blob. But it had the Belt lips and the Belt nose.” – Brandon Belt, on the ultrasound of the baby Baby Giraffe.

“Shortstop, another Brandon … Crawford.” – Jason Bateman, guest PA announcer at Dodger Stadium (the Giants had three Brandons in the lineup).

“The thing I always ask myself, and I’ll ask it about this function: If I would have hit two, would there be a bobblehead? No? Well, then this is fantastic!” – Duane Kuiper, on his bobblehead night.

“I was determined coming into the year to prove something to myself and a lot of people who maybe didn’t think I could come back at 38 years old.” – Tim Hudson.

“We were shocked he was going that fast. I don’t think that hamstring has ever seen that speed.” – Bruce Bochy, on Santiago Casilla’s sprint to first that led to a strained hamstring.

“I’m going to go to my house and drink a little bit. Can I say that?” – Tim Lincecum, on his no-hitter celebration.

“I had a dream I saw someone riding it. I tackled him.” – Hunter Pence, on his lost scooter. Continue Reading →